Brown, 50, a prominent gay activist, had been beaten and stabbed to death inside his apartment.

His partner, Brant Hines, killed him either Wednesday night or Thursday morning, West Palm Beach police said Saturday.

On Thursday night or Friday morning, Hines, 27, hung himself from a leather strap outside Brown's bedroom door, police said. He did not leave a note.

When Brown didn't show up Friday, police were called about 5 p.m. to the South Flagler Drive apartment.

"Apparently they had an on-again, off-again relationship. It was somewhat of a volatile relationship even when it was on," police Lt. Chuck Reed said. "We believe it was the result of a violent domestic disturbance."

A neighbor heard the two having a loud fight Wednesday night but did not call police, Reed said.

Brown grew up in a quarter-horse community in Mansfield, Ohio, and moved to Florida about 24 years ago after visiting a friend, said his sister, Becky Peters.

She knew Hines and said he used her brother for money and shelter.

When she confronted her brother about this, he said: "I wouldn't put a homeless dog out in the street and I certainly wouldn't do it to a person," Peters said.

Brown was a fixture at his West Palm Beach bar, which has been around for more than two decades and is a relaxed place dubbed "the gay Cheers."

"He was somebody who connected everybody in Palm Beach County," friend Tony Plakas said. "The guy is somebody who everybody would think was family."

Plakas, who used to run Compass, the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of the Palm Beaches, said it wouldn't have existed if not for Brown.

Brown was a grand marshal of the gay pride parade in West Palm Beach in 1997.

"That person lived more for other people," friend Tim Carey said.

"It's going to be tough to find another community leader because he led with his heart. What a ball of warmth."

It was his generosity that led to his death, Brown's sister said.

"He was a good person and he had a big heart and a big heart is inevitably what cost his life," Peters said.

Brown will be cremated and taken back to Ohio.

Staff Researcher William Lucey contributed to this report.

Jerome Burdi can be reached at jjburdi@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6531.